Westchester County Police Explorers ranked the best

[TR54 239]

Journal News article

Explorer Post ranked the best in competition

October 29, 2009

• • CORTLANDT: Westchester County Police Explorer Post 2007 recently won Best Team Overall in a regional competition among 10 law enforcement explorer posts.

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http://www.lohud.com/article/20091029/NEWS...-in-competition

[SageVigiles 1,194]

My photos from that event are in this thread:

http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php?showtopic=33977

If I remember correctly, Westchester did very well last year as well. Big post, seems like they are well trained and squared away. Westchester is getting alot of good posts together. Next year I want to get some of the NYPD posts (supposedly almost every precinct and housing district has one) and the FBI post from NYC to this competition...

Edited October 30, 2009 by SageVigiles

[x635 4,066]

I didn't even know Westchester County PD had an Explorer program, or that Police Explorers programs have become popular seemingly lately until I saw Alex's posts. These programs are a great thing, and it's good to see something like this getting good press.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Yeah, Westchester has a very large post, I saw probably about 20 altogether at NY Station's Day, maybe two Sergeants or so. I don't know what their rank structure is or how many they have total. Two of the newer posts in lower NY are Port Jeff and Tuckahoe, both did fairly well. I think alot of departments are getting into the Explorer programs because of a few reasons:

1. Its great community policing, keeps kids squared away and out of trouble for the most part and, if done properly, some grant money or donations can be brought in to help fund the program. (You'd be amazed how much equipment is required, especially when you have 65 kids with 3 different uniforms like our Post)

2. Its a great potential recruitment tool, providing kids who already know how to wear a uniform and who have a good idea of basic procedures and responsibilities. Some departments, like Danbury, actually give extra points on the Civil Service Exams (We get .5 points for every year of service, not bad when .01 can be the different between being hired and being SOL)

3. With proper policies, equipment and training, Explorers can be great augmentative manpower for certain details (large community events, search and rescue, large traffic details, etc)

4. Honestly, it gives bragging rights to Chiefs and Departments and a sense of pride for the community. Its basically like the SWAT Challenge, everybody competes to prove one department is more squared away than the other. And we have a ton of fun with our mini-rivalries between posts.

Edited October 30, 2009 by SageVigiles

[gpdexplorer 46]

Seth,

Law Enforcement Exploring is picking up in Westchester. I joined Greenburgh's post less than 6 months after it was started. At that time (2004), we were the only PD Explorers in Westchester. Since then, many other dept's have started posts as well. To the best of my knowledge the following dept's in Westchester have posts:

Greenburgh PD

Mt. Pleasant PD

Westchester County PD (Cortlandt area focused)

Tuckahoe PD

New Rochelle PD

There may be more, but I haven't been around the Explorer scene for a little bit.

[tunaFish 0]

Sounds to me like the Hitler Youth, 1984 by George Orwell and Khmer Rouge procreated and this is the result. If you are telling me that a 15 year old in an explorer program can be part of an enforcement detail that is insane. That sort of activity by a minor is that of a police state and brutal dictators. These programs have existed before, in the examples I have listed above and look how all of those examples turned out. This is terrifying to me, plain and simple.

You are essentially having children (minors) identify and inform on their elders and parents for the benefit of the state. Something that has been tried in my examples of communist, fascist, dictatorial and ignorant governments listed above. The fact that my country allows this makes me question the direction this country is heading and its ultra right-wing, big brother constituency.

Sheesh, what a post :-(

[khas143 13]

Sounds to me like the Hitler Youth, 1984 by George Orwell and Khmer Rouge procreated and this is the result. If you are telling me that a 15 year old in an explorer program can be part of an enforcement detail that is insane. That sort of activity by a minor is that of a police state and brutal dictators. These programs have existed before, in the examples I have listed above and look how all of those examples turned out. This is terrifying to me, plain and simple.

You are essentially having children (minors) identify and inform on their elders and parents for the benefit of the state. Something that has been tried in my examples of communist, fascist, dictatorial and ignorant governments listed above. The fact that my country allows this makes me question the direction this country is heading and its ultra right-wing, big brother constituency.

I can't believe that I have actually read what you said. To compare the explorer program to a program like the Hitler Youth is jaw-dropping, ignorant, and factually inaccurate. First off 1984 by George Orwell is FICTION.... DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COMPARE FACTS TO FICTION!!! You are apparently educated enough to make an argument but not enough to support it with facts!

Second, our country has a distinguished history of young people, who if they believe that a certain profession is what they want to do in life, participate in programs that give them an insight of that profession. This can be seen in the 4H club and last I checked, Farmers were not considered terrifying.

I hope that as your education progresses, you will read books that will show you both sides of the fence. This includes history, politics and yes law enforcement.

That being said, congrats to the WCPD explorers and for that matter all explorers that may or may not pursue a career in the law enforcement field. I personally thank you for your interest and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Edited November 1, 2009 by khas143

[tunaFish 0]

I can't believe that I have actually read what you said. To compare the explorer program to a program like the Hitler Youth is jaw-dropping, ignorant, and factually inaccurate. First off 1984 by George Orwell is FICTION.... DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COMPARE FACTS TO FICTION!!! You are apparently educated enough to make an argument but not enough to support it with facts!

Second, our country has a distinguished history of young people, who if they believe that a certain profession is what they want to do in life, participate in programs that give them an insight of that profession. This can be seen in the 4H club and last I checked, Farmers were not considered terrifying.

I hope that as your education progresses, you will read books that will show you both sides of the fence. This includes history, politics and yes law enforcement.

That being said, congrats to the WCPD explorers and for that matter all explorers that may or may not pursue a career in the law enforcement field. I personally thank you for your interest and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Good for you! for answering that post!! That was a very disturbing post to say the least.

[Remember585 815]

Sounds to me like the Hitler Youth, 1984 by George Orwell and Khmer Rouge procreated and this is the result. If you are telling me that a 15 year old in an explorer program can be part of an enforcement detail that is insane. That sort of activity by a minor is that of a police state and brutal dictators. These programs have existed before, in the examples I have listed above and look how all of those examples turned out. This is terrifying to me, plain and simple.

You are essentially having children (minors) identify and inform on their elders and parents for the benefit of the state. Something that has been tried in my examples of communist, fascist, dictatorial and ignorant governments listed above. The fact that my country allows this makes me question the direction this country is heading and its ultra right-wing, big brother constituency.

Wow. Correct me if I am wrong, but you served as a Junior Member in your FD, right? You mean to tell me that your FD never had you, or other Junior Members, assist with the more mundane activities, such as traffic control or searching for missing persons? Did you feel that your Chiefs are "Brutal Dictators?" The fact that you feel Police Explorer programs are even comparable to a fictional book or one of the most evil people in history makes me concerned. You are not clearly seeing the major differences between a militia force driven by a sole purpose vs. a group of volunteers helping their community. What is "terrifying" is that you compare a law enforcement Explorer program (similar in purpose to that of FDs and EMS) to NAZI PROGRAMS.

As far as your political view of the direction our country is going, that's your opinion that you're entitled to. Thank democracy for that, and thank those that volunteer to serve our country for preserving our rights to democracy.

To all Explorers, in Emergency services and public safety, keep up the great work and proud tradition of being a member of your community.

Edited November 1, 2009 by Remember585

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and file that under "completely twisted view of the world." But I'll respond to it in a legitimate manner.

1. We are not encouraged to inform on anyone. Quite in fact, 95% of Explorer Posts have specific policies forbidding their use in undercover operations, with the exception being alcohol/tobacco compliance checks at supermarkets/liquor stores/etc after a lengthy vetting and training process by the State Liquor Commission, at least we can do them in CT, I don't know about anywhere else. The idea that we're a bunch of brownshirted teenagers going around policing the communities thoughts and actions is not only insulting, its ignorant and just plain silly. I've read Orwell, I love his writings, but we hardly constitute the "Junior-Anti-Sex League" or "The Spies" from those books. We're not out preaching and enforcing the principles of DoubleThink, we're helping police officers direct traffic or locating missing senior citizens.

2. The problem with this country today is exactly the opposite of what you said. Teenagers are encouraged by those in popular culture to distrust and resist the police because of ridiculous left-wing fears or just plain stupidity. See "F*** The Police" and the "Stop Snitching" movements as examples. Not all Police Explorers go on to become police officers, quite in fact, most don't. But it gives an appreciation of what law enforcement is trying to accomplish and establishes working relationships between police officers and young members of the community. Most of the kids in my program don't want to be cops, they just want something constructive to do in their lives. When the alternatives are joining a gang and/or taking up a drug habit for some of the kids in urban Posts, I applaud them for making the tough and morally right decision. As Orwell put it, "in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

George Orwell may have being trying to make poignant social observations, and he did make for good fiction, but remember, 1984 was intended as a prediction of society. Last I checked, we're in 2009, more than 20 years later and we're still in a legitimate republic.

Oh, and by the way, Orwell wasn't writing about Right-Wing extremists in 1984 or Animal Farm, the governmental system in 1984 was called IngSoc, standing for English Socialism. Animal Farm was a metaphor for the Russian Revolution and the reign of Stalin. Socialism is the left of the spectrum, not the right.

[helicopper 1,050]

(bvfdjc316 @ Oct 31 2009, 01:42 PM Sounds to me like the Hitler Youth, 1984 by George Orwell and Khmer Rouge procreated and this is the result. If you are telling me that a 15 year old in an explorer program can be part of an enforcement detail that is insane. That sort of activity by a minor is that of a police state and brutal dictators. These programs have existed before, in the examples I have listed above and look how all of those examples turned out. This is terrifying to me, plain and simple.

You are essentially having children (minors) identify and inform on their elders and parents for the benefit of the state. Something that has been tried in my examples of communist, fascist, dictatorial and ignorant governments listed above. The fact that my country allows this makes me question the direction this country is heading and its ultra right-wing, big brother constituency.

This is one of the most shocking and offensive posts I've read here in a long time. To compare law enforcement to Nazis and their explorer programs to the Hitler Youth is patently absurd and further highlights your disdain for the police in our country. There is no police state or brutal dictators at work here. As was highlighted in earlier posts, this program is not unlike the 4-H program, scouting, or youth memberships in the fire service. It's an opportunity to learn more about the police, train with them, and hopefully gain an understanding and appreciation of what law enforcement is all about. Gee, you may benefit from that given your complete lack of understanding and distrust of them!

Nobody is "informing" on anyone for anyone's benefit. Where do you get these wildly inaccurate notions? We do not live in a police state and explorer programs are not cultivating mindless drones who will blindly follow illegal and/or immoral leaders.

If you find this country so unsettling perhaps you'd prefer another one. Of course, you may not be allowed to make comments like this in one of those countries and you may find that police states with brutal dictators do exist so choose carefully!

[JM15 386]

This went horribly off course... Congrats to the explorers on a good job